U.S. officials discovered three rockets leaking GB nerve agent Monday at the Anniston Army Depot in Alabama, the Anniston Star reported (see GSN, March 3).

The nerve agent did not escape from the weapons’ metal storage tubes, according to Army spokeswoman Cathy Coleman, adding that the workers who discovered the problem were conducting a routine examination for “leakers.”

The storage facility where the leaking weapons were found is “where most of our leaking rockets come from,” Coleman said.

Officials also discovered a leaky rocket in February.  Approximately 860 leaking munitions have been discovered at the plant since 1982, the Star reported.  The depot holds 2,254 tons of GB nerve agent.

Meanwhile, officials at a chemical destruction facility in Aberdeen, Md. discovered traces of mustard agent near a storage container that had been drained, the Star reported.

“There were no injuries, there was no danger to anyone outside the building,” said Jeff Lindblad, a spokesman for the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.

Nine workers who were in the area when the traces were discovered donned protective gear and left the area.

“You’re talking about a very low level,” Lindblad said (Sara Clemence, Anniston Star, May 14).

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